Vera Pauw’s team are second in Group I behind Germany and will be aiming to celebrate a fifth win of the qualifying campaign, which would also see them complete the double over Ukraine following the 3-2 victory in Tallaght Stadium in October 2019.
In terms of qualifying, the nine group winners and the three best runners-up (not counting results against the sixth-placed team) qualify directly for the final tournament, while the remaining six runners-up advance to the Play-Offs.
Ireland are currently one place outside the top three of the best-placed teams sitting second in their respective groups.
TEAM NEWS
There are no injury concerns for the Republic of Ireland with a full squad to pick from.
All of the players & staff tested negative for COVID-19. They each underwent testing before coming into camp, then in the team base on Monday, and again on Wednesday.
QUOTES
Republic of Ireland Manager Vera Pauw
"We have prepared really well for this game and we will be ready on Friday for what will be a huge occasion for women's football in Ireland. A draw would secure a Play-Off but we know that we will not be given anything, we will have to fight for it.
"We are aware of reports of COVID cases in the Ukraine squad, but we are just focused on ourselves and following all of the right protocols. We have stayed in regular contact with our medical team and the HSE to ensure that all players & staff remain disciplined in this process and it is great that we have returned all negative results.
"The qualifying campaign has gone well so far for us and we have improved along the way, however this is now when it matters most. We need to get a positive outcome from Friday's game to keep the dream alive of qualifying for the European Championships in 2022."
SQUAD LISTS
Ukraine
Goalkeepers: Iryna Sanina, Daryna Bondarchuk
Defenders: Natiya Pantsulaia, Liubov Shmatko, Olga Basanska, Darya Kravets, Anastasiia Filenko, Iryna Podolska
Midfielders: Veronika Andrukhiv, Tamila Khimych, Anna Petryk, Yana Kalinina, Yana Malakhova, Daria Apanaschenko, Iya Andrushchak, Tetiana Tril
Forwards: Nicole Kozlova, Nadiia Kumina, Olha Ovdiychuk, Olha Boychenko
Republic of Ireland
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (West Ham United), Grace Moloney (Reading), Niamh Reid-Burke (Peamount United)
Defenders: Harriet Scott (Reading), Keeva Keenan (Celtic), Louise Quinn (Fiorentina), Diane Caldwell (SC Sand), Claire O'Riordan (MSV Duisburg), Aine O'Gorman (Peamount United)
Midfielders: Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Jamie Finn (Shelbourne), Denise O'Sullivan (Brighton & Hove Albion - on loan from NC Courage), Alli Murphy (London City Lionesses), Niamh Farrelly (Peamount United), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Hayley Nolan (London City Lionesses), Ruesha Littlejohn (Leicester City), Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths)
Forwards: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Heather Payne (Florida State University), Leanne Kiernan (West Ham United), Amber Barrett (FC Koln), Rianna Jarrett (Brighton & Hove Albion), Kyra Carusa (HB Hoge)
CAPS LIST
Republic of Ireland
Goalkeepers: Grace Moloney (2 caps / 0 clean sheets), Courtney Brosnan (1 cap / 1 clean sheet), Niamh Reid-Burke (5 caps / 0 clean sheets)
Defenders: Harriet Scott (20 caps / 0 goals), Louise Quinn (80 caps / 11 goals), Diane Caldwell (77 caps / 3 goals), Claire O'Riordan (15 caps / 0 goals), Aine O'Gorman (103 caps / 13 goals)
Midfielders: Niamh Fahey (91 caps / 0 goals), Jamie Finn (1 cap / 0 goals), Denise O'Sullivan (78 caps / 11 goals), Alli Murphy (0 caps / 0 goals), Niamh Farrelly (2 caps / 0 goals), Megan Connolly (24 caps / 1 goal), Hayley Nolan (0 caps / 0 goals), Ruesha Littlejohn (57 caps / 6 goals), Ellen Molloy (0 caps / 0 goals)
Forwards: Katie McCabe (46 caps / 9 goals), Heather Payne (12 caps / 0 goals), Leanne Kiernan (20 caps / 4 goals), Amber Barrett (18 caps / 2 goals), Rianna Jarrett (11 caps / 1 goal), Kyra Carusa (1 cap / 0 goals)
STATS
6 games played
10 goals scored
3 clean sheets
79 attempts on goal
22 attempts on target
21 attempts blocked
33 corners won
Goals
3 – Katie McCabe
2 – Diane Caldwell
1 – Amber Barrett, Rianna Jarrett, Denise O’Sullivan, Tyler Toland, Shmatko OG
Assists
2 – Rianna Jarrett, Katie McCabe, Louise Quinn
1 – Amber Barrett, Denise O’Sullivan
Clean Sheets
2 – Marie Hourihan
1 – Courtney Brosnan
Yellow Cards
1 – Diane Caldwell, Jamie Finn, Katie McCabe, Julie-Ann Russell
RESULTS
August 31, 2019: Germany 10-0 Montenegro
September 3, 2019: Republic of Ireland 2-0 Montenegro
September 3, 2019: Ukraine 0-8 Germany
October 5, 2019: Germany 8-0 Ukraine
October 8, 2019: Republic of Ireland 3-2 Ukraine
October 8, 2019: Greece 0-5 Germany
November 6, 2019: Montenegro 0-4 Greece
November 12, 2019: Greece 1-1 Republic of Ireland
March 5, 2020: Republic of Ireland 1-0 Greece
March 11, 2020: Montenegro 0-3 Republic of Ireland
September 18, 2020: Montenegro 1-3 Ukraine
September 19, 2020: Germany 3-0 Republic of Ireland
September 22, 2020: Montenegro 0-3 Germany
September 22, 2020: Ukraine 4-0 Greece
FIXTURES
October 21, 2020: Greece v Montenegro
October 23, 2020: Ukraine v Republic of Ireland
October 26, 2020: Greece v Ukraine
November 26, 2020: Germany v Greece
November 30, 2020: Ukraine v Montenegro
December 1, 2020: Republic of Ireland v Germany
PREVIOUS MEETINGS
October 8, 2019: Republic of Ireland 3-2 Ukraine
NOTES
- Ukraine played their first international game in 1992 and have so far competed in one major tournament – 2009 UEFA Women’s European Championships
- Ukraine sit 26th in the FIFA Women’s Rankings, while the Republic of Ireland are currently 31st
MATCH DETAILS
Ukraine v Republic of Ireland
Friday, October 23
UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 Qualifier – Group I
Obolon Arena
Kick-Off: 17:00 (Irish Time)
Live on TV: RTE2
Referee: Ivana Martincic (Croatia)
SOCIAL MEDIA
Game Hashtag: #UKRIRL
Team Hashtag: #IRLWNT